Attach the sideboards to the headboard and footboard using small screws and some wood adhesive, being careful not to crack the wood by using screws which are too big. Next we do the outer trims, which should again be cut using the same dimensions as the bed. Attach these to the bed frame. Now we move on to the slats which add stability to the bed. Cut a dozen of these pieces and attach them between the sideboards at regular even intervals. These can be screwed to the bed frame using small screws. If you have small joint cracks you can apply some of the filler/adhesive/spackle you bought to fill these in. Always perform a strength check at this point as any inherent weaknesses will be amplified at the finished stage by loose joints or cracked wood during the building process.

The slats and connected bed frame should be able to take your full adult weight spread evenly over the entire bed. Although people often stand on beds, this is only on top of the mattress which evenly distributes the weight across all of the slats. If you find any weaknesses or cracked wooden beams, remove and replace these parts and ensure all connections and joints are tight. Your bed frame should now be complete, all you need to do is drop on the mattress and duvet and fix those hospital corners and the bed is ready for some serious sleeping. Creating a simple bed is really that simple, although clearly any woodworking bed plans you use or purchase will go into much greater detail, but hopefully this article has allayed any fears about the possibility of building your own bed from scratch.